U.S. patent number 6,750,569 [Application Number 10/206,667] was granted by the patent office on 2004-06-15 for usb transmission line having switching function.
Invention is credited to Sheng Hsin Liao.
United States Patent |
6,750,569 |
Liao |
June 15, 2004 |
USB transmission line having switching function
Abstract
A USB transmission line having switching function comprises a
transmission line, a first connector, a second connector, and a
circuit unit. The first and second connectors are USB connectors,
and are connected at two ends of the transmission line. The circuit
unit has switching function of unidirectional transmission and
bi-directional transmission, and is disposed on the transmission
line between the first and second connectors. The transmission line
can thus flexibly select the unidirectional transmission function
or the bi-directional transmission function according to practical
necessity.
Inventors: |
Liao; Sheng Hsin (Shulin City
Taipei, TW) |
Family
ID: |
29581189 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/206,667 |
Filed: |
July 29, 2002 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jul 1, 2002 [TW] |
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91209973 U |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
307/147 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
31/065 (20130101); H01R 2201/04 (20130101); H01R
2201/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
31/06 (20060101); H02B 001/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;307/147 ;361/826
;174/128.1 ;439/638 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Toatley, Jr.; Gregory J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Browdy and Neimark, P.L.L.C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A USB transmission line having switching function, comprising: a
transmission line; a first connector and a second connector being
USB connectors, said first and second connectors being connected at
two ends of said transmission line; and a circuit unit having
switching function of unidirectional transmission and
bi-directional transmission, said circuit unit being disposed on
said transmission line between said first and second
connectors.
2. The USB transmission line having switching function as claimed
in claim 1, wherein said circuit unit has a circuit board disposed
on said transmission line between said first and second connectors,
said circuit board has a circuit layout, electronic components, and
a switch thereon, and said circuit layout has a unidirectional
transmission circuit and a bi-directional transmission circuit, and
said electronic components are electrically connected to said
bi-directional transmission circuit to let said bi-directional
transmission circuit have the bi-directional transmission function,
and said switch is electrically connected to said circuit layout,
and said unidirectional transmission circuit or said bi-directional
transmission circuit are selected for use through switching of said
switch.
3. The USB transmission line having switching function as claimed
in claim 2, wherein said circuit board of said circuit unit is
disposed in a shell body of said first connector.
4. The USB transmission line having switching function as claimed
in claim 2, wherein said circuit board of said circuit unit is
disposed at an intermediate position of said transmission line.
5. The USB transmission line having switching function as claimed
in claim 1 further comprising a wire-winding mechanism, said
transmission line being elastically wound in said wire-winding
mechanism.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a USB transmission line having
switching function and, more particularly, to a transmission line
whose two ends are connected with USB connectors to have both
unidirectional transmission and bi-directional transmission
functions.
2. Background of the Invention
Nowadays, various kinds of wired communication electronic
equipments like computers, modems, telephones, or facsimile
apparatuses inevitably need to use transmission lines of
appropriate length to achieve electric connection.
Universal serial bus (USB) transmission lines are a common kind of
transmission lines. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional USB
transmission line comprises a transmission line 10a and two
connectors 20a and 30a connected at two ends of the transmission
line 10a. The two connectors 20a and 30a are USB connectors.
Conventional USB transmission lines can be approximately divided
into unidirectional transmission type and bi-directional
transmission type. Either the unidirectional transmission type or
the bi-directional transmission type has only a single transmission
function. That is, a unidirectional USB transmission line cannot be
used for bi-directional transmission, while a bi-directional USB
transmission line cannot be used for unidirectional transmission.
Therefore, the USB transmission line has a limited usage, and
cannot be flexibly utilized, resulting in inconvenience in use.
Accordingly, the above conventional USB transmission lines have
inconvenience and drawbacks in practical use. The present invention
aims to resolve the problems in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a USB
transmission line having switching function, wherein a circuit unit
having the switching function of unidirectional transmission and
bi-directional transmission is disposed on a USB transmission line.
A switch can be used to control the use of a unidirectional
transmission circuit or a bi-directional transmission circuit so
that the USB transmission line can flexibly select the
unidirectional transmission function or the bi-directional
transmission function. The USB transmission line can thus have both
unidirectional transmission and bi-directional transmission
functions, resulting in more convenient, more flexible, and wider
use.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a USB
transmission line having switching function, which comprises a
transmission line, a first connector, a second connector, and a
circuit unit having switching function of unidirectional
transmission and bi-directional transmission. The first and second
connectors are USB connectors, and are connected at two ends of the
transmission line. The circuit unit is disposed on the transmission
line between the first and second connectors.
The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be
more readily understood from the following detailed description
when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional USB transmission
line;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective assembly view of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the
present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective assembly view of yet another embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention provides a USB
transmission line having switching function, which comprises a
transmission line 10, a first connector 20, a second connector 30,
and a circuit unit 40. The first and second connectors 20 and 30
are USB connectors connected at two ends of the transmission line
10. Because the transmission line 10, the first connector 20, and
the second connector 30 are well known in the prior art, they will
not be further described below.
The present invention is characterized in that the circuit unit 40
having switching function of unidirectional transmission and
bi-directional transmission is disposed on the transmission line 10
between the first and second connectors 20 and 30.
The circuit unit 40 has a circuit board 41, which is disposed at
any position on the transmission line 10 between the first and
second connectors 20 and 30. In this embodiment, the circuit board
41 of the circuit unit 40 is disposed in a shell body 21 of the
first connector 20. The shell body 21 is composed of a first half
shell 211 and a second half shell 212. The first half shell 211 and
the second half shell 212 are assembled together by locking with
screws or supersonic splicing to sheathe the circuit unit 40.
The circuit board 41 is located between one end of the transmission
line 10 and the first connector 20. That is, the first connector 20
and one end of the transmission line 10 are fixedly soldered and
electrically connected onto the circuit board 41.
The circuit board 41 has a circuit layout 42, electronic components
43, and a switch 44 thereon. The circuit layout 42 has a
unidirectional transmission circuit 421 and a bi-directional
transmission circuit 422. The electronic components 43 are fixedly
soldered onto the circuit board 41, and electrically connected to
the bi-directional transmission circuit 422. Operations of the
electronic components let the bi-directional transmission circuit
422 have the function of bi-directional transmission. The
unidirectional transmission circuit 421 has only the function of
unidirectional transmission.
The switch 44 is fixedly soldered onto the circuit board 41, and
electrically connected to the circuit layout 42. The first
connector 20 and one end of the transmission line 10 are fixedly
soldered and electrically connected onto the circuit layout 42 of
the circuit board 41. The unidirectional transmission circuit 421
or the bi-directional transmission circuit 422 can be selected for
use through switching of the switch 44. A USB transmission line
having switching function of the present invention is thus
formed.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the present invention, the circuit board 41
of the circuit unit 40 can also be disposed on the transmission
line 10. The circuit board 41 is located at an intermediate
position of the transmission line 10. That is, the transmission
line 10 is cut at an intermediate position thereof, and the two cut
ends of the transmission line 10 are fixedly soldered onto the
circuit board 41 of the circuit unit 40 and electrically connected
onto the circuit layout 42 of the circuit board 41.
The first connector 20 and the second connector 30 are electrically
connected to the circuit layout 42 of the circuit board 41 through
the transmission line 10. The unidirectional transmission circuit
421 or the bi-directional transmission circuit 422 can be selected
for use through switching of the switch 44. A housing 21 is also
provided to sheathe and fix the connection portion of the circuit
board 41 and the transmission line 10.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the present invention, a wire-winding
mechanism 50 can be disposed in the shell body 21 of the first
connector 20. The transmission line 10 can be elastically wound in
the wire-winding mechanism 50. The wire-winding mechanism 50 can
wind up and receive the transmission line 10 of a considerable
length. The transmission line 10 can be pulled out from the
wire-winding mechanism 50. A certain restoring tension can be kept
on the transmission line 10 through the action of a spiral reel
(not shown) in the wire-winding mechanism 50 so that the
transmission line 10 can be successfully wound back. Therefore,
entanglement of wire due to a too-long length or inconvenience of
use due to a too-short length will not arise.
To sum up, the present invention is characterized in that the
circuit unit 40 having switching function of unidirectional
transmission and bi-directional transmission is disposed on the
transmission line 10. The unidirectional transmission circuit 421
or the bi-directional transmission circuit 422 can be selected for
use through switching of the switch 44 so that the transmission
line 10 can flexibly select the unidirectional transmission
function or the bi-directional transmission function according to
practical necessity. The USB transmission line of-the present
invention can thus have both unidirectional transmission and
bi-directional transmission functions, resulting in more
convenient, more flexible, and wider use.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to
the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the
invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various
substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the
foregoing description, and other will occur to those of ordinary
skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and
modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the
invention as defined in the appended claims.
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